Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster

Very, very easy to use. Does what it was designed for and nothing else.

My signal path is as follows....guitar > Planet Waves tuner > Dunlop Wah > Boss NS-2 > Peavey 6505 > Mesa Recto 2X12 cab. The SD Pickup Booster is run in the loop of the NS-2. This unit is already real quiet but even more so in the loop of the NS-2. I basically use this pedal to boost the rhythm channel of the 6505 to tighten up the low end and provide more sustain for jamming at lower volumes. I tried using vaious overdrives for this purpose and although they do tighten the amp up by cutting the bass they also thin the tone out too much for my liking. With the pickup booster it gives me the same results and keeps my bottom end intact. This pedal is very transparent and does not seem to color your tone at all. I'm gonna give the pedal an 9 in this category because well....nothing is perfect but this little pedal is close.

Seems pretty reliable to me.....it's made out of metal. I'm sure I could throw it at someone and it would hurt them more than the pedal. I never had any problems with the switch or potentiometer. Would have no problem at all gigging without a backup.

Never had to deal with SD with this pedal or any of their pickups for that matter.

I play heavy music and as I previously stated I just use it as a clean boost to punch the front of the amp on the rhythm channel. My guitars are equipped with EMG pickups so with the 6505 and this little pedal you can unleash metal ******** mahem. Oh, I would also like to add that I've tried it in the effects loop as a solo boost but it gave it too much of an increase in volume once you activated the pedal. Not a problem for me, I like using it the way it's being run now so whatever. Just thought I would mention it in case you are buying it for that purpose. Everyone should have one of these in their pedal arsenal because it has several purposes.

Plug and play. You decide where to set the knob for the amount of boost. What could be easier?

I have found that this device really enhances the sparkle of my Strat and Teles. I have it placed last in the chain preceeded by a DOD FX 80B and a Keeley/Boss Blues Driver, and Boss TU Tuner respectively. This set-up is steller when used with my Fender Deluxe RI and Fender Deluxe II reverb amps. The setting I perfer is with the boost knob at 6 +/- above this general setting results in actual drive boost which is not what I'm after.

So far so good. Others seem to rate it favorably.

Not required.

Give one a try I believe it's a good unit and I really like what it does as described above.

Read the manual. If you don't understand it, you should do us all a favor and quit playing guitar.

I mostly use it with humbuckers actually. Its an awesome pedal for weak humbuckers. If you have high output humbuckers I would suggest a quality noise gate because it's going to hum like mad. Normally I run it just past half way on the 0 setting. Perfect to run into a clean channel for a little bluesy sustain. Great for taking a mid gain amp's lead channel over the edge. Buzzy when its on and you aren't playing but its a 25 db boost so what do you expect?

No problems yet but I'm anticipating them due to past reviews. They'll take care of me though.

N/A

Overall it does what I want it to. It replaced my TS-808 in my chain (using a pedal that expensive as a boost is a WASTE). Pushes the front end of my amp great. Good for taking a solo although I use it in an Iommi like fashion on a low to mid gain setting where the boost is always on. I'd probably replace it if I lost it. It's pretty valuable to me for the sound I shoot for.

Easy as hell to use, the resonance switch was kind of odd to figure out, but it's was pretty handy.

I really like the sound.
I was looking for something to add gain. I tried out over 10 pedals.
It outdid the zvex SHO, the MXR microamp and everything else I tried it out against. Sounds damned good. It was a good month long quest.
As far as favorite artist sounds, geez. I don't know.
The thing is pretty flexible and it doesn't really impart a signature sound.

Mine worked fine for 7 months, and then it just started making a fuzzy sort of "bad pot" noise. Up until that, it worked perfectly.

Mine broke, I called Seymour Duncan and they sent me a new one and it was at my door within a week.
No questions asked.

The pickup booster has replaced my overdrive and fuzz needs. My main set up is a SG custom through a Blackface bandmaster and a marshall 2X12. When I switch guitars to something like my Strat or Jazzmaster, I can change the resonance of the pickup through the switch on the box. That's a cool feature, and I'm just realizing the capabilities of it.
When I thought it was broken and un-fixable, I went to the store to buy a new one. I like it that much. Luckily the guy at the store told me he could print off a new recipt, so I called S-D and they helped me out big time.
When I bought it at first, I thought some sort of EQ flexibility would have been nice, but I've changed my mind. It's really all I need.
Some low-cut would have been nice originally, but it's fine.

This is a very simple pedal, On-Off footswitch, Input/Output jacks, knob to control amount of boost, and 3-way Resonance switch. The only reason I rate it 8 for Ease of Use is that you have to take the body apart to change batteries. I use mine on a pedalboard with a One Spot, so this is not an issue for me, but this would be a pain for those who prefer to use batteries.

I bought this pedal simply to use as a volume boost for solos. The manual suggests to put this pedal first in your chain but this did not work well for me. I use a Behringer TO800 Vintage Overdrive (great pedal)for a Blues type overdrive and Marshall Guv'nor Plus 2 for heavier overdrive. Placing this pedal in front of these pedals did not result in much volume boost at all, it simply overdrives each pedal, even when boost is turned way up. My pedals would distort more, but there was very little increase in volume, not nearly enough to put you out front when playing in a band situation with another guitarist. Placing the pedal AFTER my overdrives works much better with lots of good clean boost. The pedal does produce a very good clean sound with very little noise. The Resonance switch works, but it is very subtle. I found it takes the thinness out of my Telecaster tone which is nice, but it is not a dramatic change at all. Still, it is a nice feature I like. I use this with a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe as my main gigging amp, a Fender Blues Jr. for small gigs and jams, a Marshall DSL401 and Epiphone Valve Jr head into several different cabs. This pedal is outstanding if you use clean tones for a good boost.

I've only owned it a few weeks, but it seems very solid and well built.

I've never had to contact Seymour Duncan, so I can't really say much here.

I am happy with this pedal, it gives a nice clean boost for solos that does not color your tone. After placing this pedal after my overdrives I can get a big volume boost, it does not work as well when placed before these pedals (for me anyway). I do like the Resonance switch feature even if it is very suble. Not sure if I would buy it again, I was originally interested in the BBE Boosta Grande (great pedals), but my local music shop owner did not have that in stock and talked me into this. Changing batteries is the worst feature of this pedal, not the greastest design at all.

About as easy as it gets. One big knob. There is a three setting switch that supposedly gives a humbucker sound to a single coil guitar, but i haven't found it useful, i just leave that one at "off".

I love this pedal. I've spent a lot of time messing around with various overdrive pedals trying to get some more character out of my guitars and amps, but I havent' been happy till i tried this. It's like anything else out there, the beauty is in the eye(or ear in this case!) of the beholder.

I play a telecaster with seymour duncan antiquity single coils, a Gibson SG with P-90s, and an epiphone sheraton with gibson burstbuckers and upgraded pots. The pedal really serves as an extension to my guitars. Yes, it does boost the volume significantly if you want it to, but I've really enjoyed it in the home/studio setting. I turn the amp down a bit and crank the pedal and I really hear the pickups in a whole new way. It adds a slight amount of gain in the higher settings, but it just makes the guitars sound fantastic. I play it through several different tube amps and I've really found what I've been looking for. I love this pedal! Imagine if your guitar's volume went to 20, that's what the pedal does. The name "pickup booster" is a very appropriate label for this pedal. if you have good pickups, you'll love what this pedal does!

This pedal probably is useless in solid state amps, I've only used it with tube amps and would only recommend that.

Haven't had it for very long, but it seems well built. Besides, I only paid $49 bucks for it. A steal in my opinion. If anything went wrong, i'd just go get another one.

I prefer a simple set up and this gives me everything i want. It really takes your guitar's tone and just gives it a subtle little kick. If you're looking for a little more character or hair on your tone, try one out.

This pedal is bonehead simple. One knob, one three position switch, an input, an output, and the on/bypass switch. If you can't understand this pedal straight out of the box, then you need to go back to elementary school.

I love this pedal. It sounds great both infront of my guitar amp (Peavey Valveking 112) and in the effects loop. Infront of the amp it gives you more shimmer and punch whether overdriven or clean. In the effects loop you get a massive boost in volume which leaves your tone the same. Additionally, it is very quiet. There is no noise when you engage or disengage the pedal.

Here's where the pedal has its issues. The first one I got did not work properly. It didn't engage most of the time and when it did engage it had a distorted and crackly sound. After returning the pedal and getting a new one, I have had no problems. I think the problem is a quality controll issue rather than a problem with the design of the pedal. Solidly built.

Never dealt with them.

I play the typical classic rock and blues styles that every guitarist and thier brother plays. This pedal would suit any style equally well as it is not designed to significantly change your tone. I have been playing guitar for eight years, though would not consider myself to be a great player by any means. Most of my gear, such as my Epiphone Les Paul and my Peavey Valveking amp have been tone to cost comprimises as I am a university student who is on a tight budget. This pedal was no such comprimise. I love it and am considering getting another one to use infront of my amp as well as the one I have in the effects loop. Fantastic value and a great tool. Just save your reciept incase you get a lemon.

If you can't figure it out...quit!

The three position switch supposedly changes your guitar sound to sound like humbuckers if you have single coils, or vice versa if you have humbuckers, and the 0 or mid setting doesn't change your sound at all. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it did what it claimed to do in that department but it does provide a subtle change in your sound that is useful. I mostly prefer the 1 (or single coil) setting (except with my strat) as it seems to provide a tighter bass sound.

The real beauty of this pedal is that it doesn't change your basic sound much at all but it provides a healthy dose of clean, uncolored boost. It is a fairly quiet pedal considering the amount of boost it has and is true bypass as well. I have several amps, all tube, and of course some are pedal friendly and some are not. I have a couple different overdrives, H&K Tube Factor and a Fulltone OCD, which work well with my Fender and Sunn as both of those amps are very clean, but I did not like them with my Marshall JCM 900 Dual Reverb (because, I found out, I really didn't need an overdrive pedal with that amp). A friend borrowed my Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster to try with his Marshall JCM 800s (he was looking for a good clean boost) and emphatically praised it as exactly what he was looking for. Needless to say I had to try it with my JCM 900 and I found he was exactly right. The Seymour Duncan pedal just enhanced the crunch and drive already built into the amp. I like the boost knob set at around 12 or 1 o'clock; any more is a bit too much for my purposes.

If you have a tube amp that you really like the overdriven sound of very much just slam the front end of it with your guitar's uncolored tone using the Pickup Booster and you may find just what you're looking for. It works best when you have your tubes working at that sweet spot where you start getting that good power tube tone. It isn't something that will make your amp sound better in the bedroom when you're practicing, though. It's a pretty inexpensive gamble and worth a shot to make your live sound better.

One and a half years no problems.

I play classic blues rock and my friend spoken of previously plays more of a metal style. We have both been playing more than thirty-five years each. After I found a deal on a Pickup Booster for him he bought it and still called me and offered to buy mine for his practice rig (of course I refused).

I initially bought this when I was shopping for a tremelo pedal because it was inexpensive and I thought I would try it for a clean boost. I did use it on my board as a clean boost for a while when I played my '67 Sunn Solarus and my Fender '65 Deluxe Reverb reissue and it worked well but I had too many pedals cluttering my board so I removed it and it sat around for a while. I have revived it now with the Marshall and it is the only pedal I need in front of it. My friend has said that he is removing his Keeley modded TS-808 from his board because he doesn't need it now. The unit just seems to bring out the best characteristics of the amp. We tried other clean boosts -Keeley, Creation Audio Labs... the Seymour Duncan Pickup Booster may well be the best clean boost for the money.

Very easy to use.
One pot.

You have a selector (drop 2-3 Khz or drop 3-5 Khz).

The Boost doesn't change the tone. But the amp shows more bright and bass because you attack it with more gain (the booster). Then the 3 position switch help you.

10.
No noise.
true bypass.
Pure class A.
No colour.

I use the switch in position 1, because i feel more bright in the normal position when i use it with my Marshalls.
In this position 1, the sound is the same, but more gain and punch.

Sometimes i don't push it strong and the pedal donesn't do well on/off.
Perhaps is dust in the pedal.
I have it two years ago.

I have tried Fulltone Fat Boost, Fulltone OCD, Fulltone Fulldriver 2 Mosfet Edition, TS9, etc.

The Fulltone Boosters add a ball in bass.
The Fulldrive and TS9 change the tone (completely).

The Seymour duncan Booster is perfect.

Few padals are simpler than a boost pedal. If you are going to use the resonance feature I recommend the manual.

The boost function is great. It does not color your sound at all, so simply you get your sound boosted - nothing more.

I use this pedal in the following setup(s):
Gibson Les Paul/Feneder Tele -> Booster -> Cry Baby 535Q -> Boss GE7 -> Boss DD6 -> Marsahll JCM 2000 DSL 401

Using this pedal with channel 2 of the DSL 401 amp, gives me four variations of overdrive with goes from the lightest OD to the heaviest I've ever encountered. (OD1 without pedal, OD1 with, OD2 without, OD2 with)

I used to use an EQ pedal set to be flat as a booster, but it added more noise than anything to my sound... This pedal can boost your guitar signal by 25db which is a lot and has a potential of being VERY noisy, but it is amaizingly quiet.

No problems so far.